Historically the table has always been a meeting point where people come together to eat, drink and communicate with one another. Whether in a family home, a restaurant or a larger social gathering, the table's role is central.
Indeed the table's importance extends beyond merely providing a place for eating and is arguably just as important in other forms of human interaction such as business meetings.
The act of sharing the common space of the table top plays an important role in the socialisation of the people sat around the table as it brings the people face to face with one another. This enables the people to communicate with not only those people sat beside them at the table but also those people sat across the table.
However as tables grow in size to accommodate more people the socialising benefits are reduced because, although the number of people seated at the table increases, the total number of people within any one person's communication range does not and in fact can be reduced to the extent that only their immediate neighbours are within communication range.